The Beginnings of Zutara
by KK Renee
Summary: Aang has to leave Katara on Avatar duties. Not having Aang to look after, she and Zuko get a little closer. Construction zone! Currently remodeling.
1. Goodbye

**The Beginnings of Zutara**

Aang shrugged. "I don't know how long I'll be away, Katara," he said, zipping up his final suitcase. "I've told you before—the councilmen said about six months, maybe more. There's a lot to be done at Ba Sing Se."

"I wish I could go with you," Katara whispered. She wrapped her arms around his neck. During the year after the war, Aang had grown. He and Katara were about the same height now.

"I know, Katara." Aang's arms also went around Katara. "But you're needed here, at home." After traveling for the past two years, the Southern Water Tribe didn't seem like home anymore. She still wanted to move around, find some hidden corner of the world that she hadn't seen yet. "If it makes you feel any better, I really wish you could come with me, too, but—"

"I know. My grandmother's sick and I need to stay here in case it gets worse."

"And I'll visit when Sokka and Suki have their wedding." He paused. "I love you, Katara." Katara was beginning to tell him that she loved him, too, but he pressed his lips against hers. They didn't hear Sokka step into the room.

"Ugh, _guys_!" he called. "I thought you said your goodbyes _last_ night! I don't like seeing my little sister—"

"Sokka, you can uncover your eyes," Katara said. She picked up one of Aang's suitcases and slung it over her shoulder. It began sliding down her arm and she tried to push it back up when she realized Aang was the one pulling it down.

"I got it," he said. He then picked up all four suitcases and took three steps before they all promptly fell to the ground. Katara giggled. She knelt down to help him pick the suitcases up. However, when she bent over, her necklace slipped off her neck. Aang caught it for her.

"The clasp is getting loose," she explained. "It keeps falling off every time I move around. I need to get it fixed." She stood up and held her hair out of the way so Aang could clip the necklace back into place. "Thanks."

Just then, Hakoda entered the room. "Are you all ready?" he asked. "Everyone's outside waiting to say goodbye. Toph is itching to get off the ice."

Katara had forgotten about Toph and soon-to-be-sister-in-law, Suki. (Sokka and Suki were planning to get married in the upcoming year, before the winter solstice, if they were lucky.) Aang was taking the two girls back to their hometowns. Toph was visiting her parents and dreading it—two weeks of dresses and tea parties with her mother's friends and their daughters. Suki was telling her friends and family the good news and make preparations and plans for her wedding. Sokka would meet up with her next week.

Everyone each took one of Aang's suitcases and headed out. Katara and Aang joined hands. The villages lined a pathway that led directly to Appa. A few people stepped out to give Aang a hug. Even now, they were still rejoicing the end of the war. Katara almost liked when the war was going on—it was definitely easier than dealing with the aftermath. She had dealt with too many stubborn citizens from the Colonies and assassination attempts, the attempts at either at her or her friends. Katara was still not used to even the positive attention that helping end the war brought her. She was expecting that a few would hate her, but people she never even met before were coming up to her and thanking her!

They loaded everything onto Appa, including some nonperishable food that would last Aang a few days if he couldn't stop at a town. Aang was relieved when he noticed that sea prunes didn't make it onto the saddle.

Katara and Sokka lingered on Appa. Sokka and Suki were whispering to each other. Katara could hear their murmurs from where she was sitting on Appa's head. "So I'll see you in a little while?" She asked. She felt the sting of tears at the back of her eyes, but she knew they wouldn't spill over.

"I'll be back before you know it," Aang replied. They stared at each other for a few moments. Suddenly, Katara kissed Aang one last time before turning and jumping off Appa. She landed heavily onto the thick ice, but managed to keep her footing.

"Yip yip!" Aang called out to Appa. Katara stood rooted to her spot long after Appa had disappeared into the clouds, long after the small crowd dispersed. Even though she felt she and Aang were gradually growing apart, she wanted to keep him close. He was her normal. And she missed him already.


	2. Arrival

_The Next Day_

"C'mon, Gran Gran," Katara said. "Let's get you dressed." She held her hands under her grandmother's shoulders as she helped the elderly lady sit up. She helped Kanna pull her heavy sleeping clothes off her body. She went to the wooden dresser and pulled out the day clothes for Gran Gran. She was walking back to help Gran Gran again when Sokka barged into the room.

"Hey, Katara!" he exclaimed, but then immediately turned around. He didn't want to see his grandmother nearly naked! "I'll tell you later." He walked out of the room.

Gran Gran chuckled as she slipped her arm into a sleeve. "What's so funny, Gran Gran?" Katara asked.

"That boy," she answered. "I'll miss him when I'm gone."

"Gone?" Katara questioned. Her confusion was swept away with realization. "Gran Gran, stop it! Don't think like that! You're _not_ going to die, not at least while you're under my watch."

"You have such pretty hair, Katara. Your mother's hair…"

Katara didn't want to be in here any longer. "Come on—we're going to go outside today." She slid an arm around Kanna and had her grandmother's over her shoulder. Katara pulled her grandmother up into a standing position. Gran Gran took her arm off Katara's shoulders and instead placed it on her (Katara's) arm. She held onto it tightly in case she were to fall.

They reached the door flap. Sokka was standing on the opposite side of it. "Okay, so _now_ guess what," he said, holding Gran Gran's other hand.

"What?" she asked, not wanting to guess, but wanting to _know_. All the villagers seemed to be heading to the front ice wall. She wondered why, but figured this is what Sokka was talking about.

"Zuko's here!"

"Zuko? I haven't seen him since the end of the war!" The three of them quickly walked to where everyone was gathered. Sokka told Katara to go greet Zuko, that he would make sure Gran Gran didn't fall. After making sure Sokka was sure, she hurried to the ship.

"Katara," Katara heard a voice to her right say. She turned that direction.

"Zuko!" she exclaimed, rushing forward to hug him. "It's been a year…," she said, stepping back. "Why haven't you visited?"

"It's really busy being Fire Lord," he explained. "The only reason I was able to make it here is because I'm here for diplomatic reasons. I have to discuss a treaty with your father." Oh, right. Of course. He didn't have any free time any more. "Business" was the only way they'd be able to see each other anymore. "I'm also here to welcome you all to the anniversary party we're having in a month. To celebrate the end of the war. I hear the Avatar—I mean, Aang"—it's been a year and he still hadn't broken that habit—"has scheduled to attend."

"Really? That's great." Things became silent between them. So much had happened since they'd last seen each other, but they still seemed to have nothing to talk about. "So, you needed to speak to my dad…?" Zuko nodded. She led him over to where her father was standing. "Maybe after supper we can talk," she said before leaving to go help with Gran Gran again.

**Z x K**

"I've missed you," Katara said. They sat next to the large fire in the middle of the village, Zuko stoking it every few minutes.

"I missed you, too." He paused. "What have you been doing since the war ended?"

"Um…well, shortly after your coronation, I came home and somehow ended up as the village's healer. Gran Gran got sick. I don't know what with, but she's just not doing as well as she used to. It seems like I have to help her with _everything_ now." Zuko could tell she was frustrated. It was evident in her body language and how she spoke. But he also could tell she was frustrated with more things than just her grandmother. "And she's been talking about she's going to be _leaving_, she keeps saying she's going to die soon. And, Zuko, she _can't_ die! She's helped me through _so_ much. She can't just leave me. I wanted her to be at my wedding…to see my first child."

Zuko didn't know what to say. The people he loved weren't near the age of death. "Maybe if she's saying it's her time..."

Katara didn't respond. She stared into the fire. She felt her eyes prick with tears, felt the heavy lump in her throat. But she would _not_ cry in front of Zuko. "I'd like to travel again," she whispered. "I feel locked up here."

"When I leave at the end of the week, come with me. I'm not the only one who hasn't been making visits."

"I can't…what if Gran Gran…? But enough about me. What's going on with you?"

"Azula's recovering…I think," said Zuko. "Last I heard, they managed to get her into a bath without much trouble."

"That's good."

"So much paperwork, though, with being Fire Lord…and annoying, closed-minded generals," he added. "It's a good thing Uncle's there to keep the tension down. Otherwise, I'd be at an Agni Kai nearly every day." Katara smiled faintly, but it disappeared when Sokka ran up to them, hollering his sister's name loudly.

"Katara, come quick—it's Gran Gran."

Katara's eyes widened. She didn't ask any questions, but rather stood up and ran after Sokka. Zuko didn't know whether to stay or follow.

Katara held her ear next to her grandmother's mouth. "She's not breathing!" she exclaimed to her family. She pressed her fingertips firmly into Gran Gran's neck. "I can't feel her heartbeat!" Hakoda began to practically pound on his mother's chest, trying to get her heart to beat again. Katara began doing mouth-to-mouth. Tears clouded Katara's vision. It was hard for her to talk. She broke down and began sobbing. The mouth-to-mouth wasn't working. Not really thinking, she stood up.

"Dad, stop," she said. Her voice was surprisingly calm. Her hands raised until they were level with her shoulders, parallel to her grandmother's chest. Her fingers began moving on their own accord.

She was Bloodbending! But it wasn't even a full moon…She couldn't think of that now. She pushed and pulled the blood through Kanna's heart. Soon, she felt it beating again. Katara nearly collapsed. She held her Gran Gran's hand up to her cheek. "Gran Gran…," she said.

"Katara," Gran Gran murmured. "Let me go…" She squeezed Katara's hand before her eyes closed and she went limp.

"Oh, La." Katara rested her forehead against her hands, her knees giving out. She began sobbing. The only mother figure she'd had for twelve years… She was just simply _gone_. Gone like her mother. Just…gone. Hakoda knelt down beside her. "Dad!" she cried out, flinging her arms around his neck and crying uncontrollably into his shoulders. Sokka stood frozen in the corner.


	3. Chemistry

Katara hugged her brother tightly. Gran Gran's funeral had just finished. It was a beautiful ceremony, several people had told Katara and her family. She would've thought so, too, but she felt numb during the whole thing. She wasn't numb enough to remain dry-eyed through the evening, like Hakoda had, but she could only half pay attention, or else she would've broken down into sobs.

Zuko had attended the funeral service. Katara assumed he felt a tad bit guilty still about the way he had treated Kanna when he had entered the Southern Water Tribe two years ago, when Aang first got out of ice berg. He sat awkwardly in the back, as if he didn't want to intrude on the ceremony. Only because of the ship's captain, Jee's, persisting, two soldiers stood next to Zuko, though he didn't want them there. Iroh also attended.

Zuko watched as the two Water Tribe siblings hugged. Sometimes he wished he and Azula could have been that close…A girl Katara's age walked up to the pair and tugged the apart, tugging Katara into her arms. Zuko assumed she was a close friend of Katara's. The two girls said some words and the unknown teen walked away once more. Katara wrapped her arm around Sokka's and they made their way to the tent. After a moment's thoughts, he decided not to follow them inside, instead, giving them some privacy. He would talk to Katara later.

**Z x K**

Katara smiled at the unwanted visitor as she left. As soon as the woman was out of sight, she huffed, turning back to her dad and brother. "The next person who comes to bring us food is getting Waterbended to the other side of the village," she said.

"Katara," said Hakoda. "They're just trying to help. You can't blame them."

"I know. It's just…frustrating." They sat in silence. "I think I might leave with Zuko tomorrow." She rubbed her eyes hard. She did _not_ want to cry any more. She'd done enough of it in the past four days already. _Four days_, she thought. _It's only been four days since Gran Gran died._ "I just need to get away for a little bit." She felt bad for wanting to run away, but she couldn't stand it anymore. The village was too quiet and it was a strange feeling not knowing her Gran Gran would be cooking dinner or playing Pai Sho with the other grandmothers. Everyone pitied the family. She didn't want that.

"I understand."

"So you're okay with me going?"

"I'm okay with it."

"You should go," Sokka added. "You deserve it."

She smiled weakly. "So, what do you think? Ready for dinner?" The two men nodded. "After I go to the Fire Nation, you two should be set for weeks, after all this food people gave us." She thought for a moment. "I think I'll bring us back sea prunes. They're always a good comfort food." She stood up and walked out of the tent and headed to the small shack that they used to store their food. They only kept it here because it wasn't a good idea to keep food in a tent if an animal made its way to the village. She opened the door and pulled out a covered pot. She tried to remember which family the pot came from so she could return it when they were finished. Trying not to slosh the liquid inside around, she carefully walked the few feet back to her tent.

"You're going to have to eat all the prunes first," she said, placing the pot over the fire to warm it back up. "They spoil the fastest. Luckily, only a few people decided to bring us it, so I don't think you'll have to worry much." She began going into "mother-mode," as Sokka had called it twice before. (He stopped saying it out loud because Katara had water whipped him.) She made sure Sokka and Hakoda knew where everything was, who to go to when they began to starve because the two couldn't cook, et cetera. She wanted to make sure they were prepared because now Gran Gran couldn't look after them while they were gone. In the back of her head, she knew she was over-worrying, but she couldn't help it. She didn't want to lose any more of her family.

**Z x K**

"Zuko!" Katara yelled. "Do you think you'd get to leave without saying 'bye' first?" Zuko held out his arms hesitantly, thinking Katara would hug him. "Just kidding, goodbyes won't be necessary. I've decided to take you up on your offer. I want to go with you to the Fire Nation."

"Oh," Zuko said, "okay. Do you have your things packed?" She patted the bag on her back and nodded. "Great. Well, let's go." They two boarded the ship and they were off. Iroh smiled at them from the top of the deck.

**Z x K**

Iroh, Katara, and Zuko sat towards the bow of the ship. Although still chilly, it was a bit warm under the noontime sun and they decided to spend their time outside. A knee-high table was between them. Iroh was brewing tea opposite of Katara. The two shared legends from their respective nations as the tea steeped. After several minutes and two stories, the tea was finished. Iroh poured each of them a cup. Zuko and Katara glanced at each other before simultaneously taking a sip.

Katara fought the urge to spit it back out. She managed to finally swallow it. "So, how do you think?" Iroh asked. "It's a new recipe I'm making."

"It's…_lovely_, General Iroh," Katara answered. Zuko muffled a snort.

"Katara, my dear, no need to lie. My feelings won't be hurt. I need to know whether or not to put it on the menu at the Jasmine Dragon. Also, please, call me _Iroh_. Or even 'Uncle,' if you wish."

"Okay, Gen—I mean, Iroh."

"It could use some honey," said Zuko, the first he had spoken since they had sat down.

"Honey?" Iroh said. "I never would have thought of that. But I guess it might work…" He thought for a moment before getting up and heading inside the ship.

"Well…," Katara sighed. "Want to spar, I guess? Unless you'd like to do something different," she added quickly.

"Why not?" They cleared the deck and began to stretch. Katara took a drink of water and shed her outer coat before facing Zuko in the middle of the deck. She became cold as they warmed up, but she knew that problem would be solved once they really started.

A flame shot right by her ear, quicker than she had time to block it, and she knew it had begun.

Iroh stood in the watchtower with Captain Jee. They watched the two teens spar below. "They're equally matched," Jee noted. "They have perfect chemistry."

"They do indeed," Iroh agreed.

**Z x K**

Several days later, they finally arrived at the Fire Nation. "For a Waterbender," Katara said, "I never thought I'd get tired of seeing water everywhere I looked. I'm happy we reached land."

They docked the ship. Several marina workers helped anchor the small ship (Zuko refused to take the royal ship, but preferring one like the one he had spent four years travelling on) and unload the cargo. The dock was crowded and everyone they passed bowed respectfully to Zuko. Katara was once again marveling at the heat—she had forgotten how hot it could get. She knelt down next to a roughly six-year-old boy who looked lost.

"Hey, little one," she said. "Where's your mother?" Here question was answered when a woman grabbed the boy's hand. She half-glared at Katara before looking up at Zuko, who Katara knew was standing behind her. Her eyes widening, the woman picked up the boy and darted off into the crowd. Zuko ran after her, giving Katara a two-worded explanation.

"My mother," he said simply.


	4. Found

"Zuko," Katara mumbled, "where _are_ you?" She had cruised around the immediate area, looking in shops and stores. He was nowhere to be found. She circled back around, to where Iroh was still standing by the ship. She walked up to him, winded. "Zuko left," she said. "He said something—something about his—mother." The way she ended the sentence made it sound like a question.

The only sign of surprise from Iroh was raised eyebrows. "Ursa?" he asked.

Katara nodded. She was still a bit breathless. The heat didn't help, either. "Where—where might he be?"

"Wherever his mother's headed."

"Do you know where that is?"

"I haven't spoken to Ursa since months before her banishment. I know just as well as you do." Deciding that Zuko would meet them up at the Palace, they milled about the ship until it was time to leave the docks. It wasn't until sundown that Zuko returned the Palace.

Katara was sitting by the turtle-duck pond (she was always fascinated by the turtle-ducks) when she heard someone stomping down the hall to her right. Looking that way, she saw it was Zuko causing the noise. She hurried into a standing position. The scroll she was reading was left abandoned in the dirt. "Zuko!" she called. "Where were you? Why did you just leave like that?"

"My _mother's_ here," he said, brushing off a maid who was offering some sort of drink or something. "I can't just _not_ attempt to find her."

"Are you positive it's her? Couldn't it be someone who _looks_ like her? A-a doppelganger or something?"

"No, I'm sure it's her. Tomorrow, I'm looking for her again."

"Why don't you wait a little bit? Get settled back in here first, and then look for her in a week or something."

"Katara, if this was _your_ mother we were talking about, would you want to wait a week?" Katara was silent. She knew exactly how she'd react if her mom was miraculously alive.

They each went to bed. In the morning, she woke up earlier than she normally would have. Earlier in the night, she had woken up abruptly after having a dream about her grandmother. She had cried herself back to sleep. This had repeated several times. She had only gotten a few hours of sleep that night. When she saw the sun peeking up on the horizon, she decided to finally crawl out of bed. She knew the Firebenders would be beginning to wake up, at least.

Katara turned down three different hallways to Zuko's room. She knocked on the door and didn't get an answer. She assumed he wasn't there and went downstairs to see if he was eating breakfast, but he wasn't there, either. "Did Zuko leave already?" she asked Iroh, sitting down next to him at the counter in the kitchens. She rubbed sleep out of her eyes and redid her hair. The cooks had insisted on making her eggs and she accepted. She was too sleepy still and emotionally worn out from the past few days to even _want_ to cook, anyway.

"I'm afraid he did," Iroh responded.

Katara sighed. Her plate was slid in front of her and she graciously thanked the cook before taking a bite.

**Z x K**

Zuko sighed in frustration. He couldn't find his mother. Anywhere. He looked around the market area and the small villages surrounding it. He asked around. Everyone knew of Ursa, the Fire Lady who had gotten banished five years ago. No one knew of an Ursa who lived nearby. He made the radius from the marketplace longer, nearly a mile in distance.

He was beginning to get frustrated. It was several hours past noon, almost dinnertime, and he still had no clue—not a single idea—about the whereabouts of Ursa. He decided to wait until the sunset to head back home, where he would eat, sleep, and get enough energy to look again tomorrow. His stomach growled. Forget about eating later—he'd eat now. He stumbled across a small village, which remarkably had an inn with a small diner. He opened the door and a little bell above the door jingled. He sat down at a dusty wooden table in the back corner. A waitress rushed over to him.

"We don't get many people around here," she said, clearly happy about the customer. She had a twang to her voice that most people in the more populated cities of the Fire Nation didn't have. "I'm happy to finally serve _someone._" Zuko was pleased that this woman hadn't noticed him yet. Of course, it helped that he kept his face lowered, his hair falling into his face, eyes on the menu. "Room or food? Of course if ya choose food, it'll take me a minute to cook it—we don't have much already prepared."

"I'll have—," he began, finally looking up to the woman. Both of them froze, staring at the other. They both had the same golden eyes, the same nose (as the waitress noted—Zuko wasn't _that_ observant).

"I—I'll just start you off with water, sure?" With that, she hurried back off into the kitchen. She busted through the swinging door, which startled Ayla, who was washing her laundry in the basin that was reserved for the mostly non-existent guests at the inn.

"Ursa!" Ayla exclaimed. "What's—what's the matter, darlin'?" Ursa knelt down by the toddler sleeping on blankets in the corner, who was beginning to stir at the noises.

Ursa sighed before revealing to her dearest friend the problem. "My son," she stated simply.

"Ursa, hon, are ya doin' alrigh'? Ya don't 'ave a fever, do ya? Yer son's righ' there."

"No, Ayla, my _son_." She put extra emphasis on the word, hoping Ayla would understand. She was the only one Ursa had told her past to.

"Oh." She looked around the room, as if an idea would be sitting on a shelf. "Ah'll bring 'im 'is drink, yeah? What'd 'e order?" The twang in Ayla's voice was considerably stronger than Ursa's, as she had spent her whole life in this village, never once visiting a village with a population of more than two hundred people.

"Water."

Ayla quickly filled a glass with clean, chilled water and brought it out to the boy. She set in on the table in front of him. "What can Ah get ya? Ah'm able t' cook up anythin' you want, even a few Water Tribe dishes, if that's what yeh'd like."

"Is it possible for me to speak with that waitress who was here earlier?" Zuko asked.

"If she's willin'."

"Please, will you ask her?"

"Ah'll try—no promises."

"Thank you. That's all I ask."

The woman disappeared and Zuko sipped the water he had been given. He could hear muffled voices from the room he assumed to be the kitchen. He tried not to eavesdrop, even though he couldn't help it when one of the women said something particularly loud. There was more mumbling and the first waitress—no, his _mother_, Zuko had to tell himself—seemed to be pushed out the swinging door. She stumbled in before regaining her balance and sitting at the table across from the boy. She placed her hands on top of his, sighing.

"Hello, Zuko."


	5. Talk

"Who is this?" Zuko asked, picking up the small child who was playing with its feet.

"That's my son. His name is Lu Ten," Ursa replied.

"I think it's great how you named him Lu Ten."

"I think it is, too."

"Zuko I have a—or, actually, _two_—questions to ask you. Who was that girl you were with today? She seems familiar to me. And, two, will you not tell anyone about me? Well, maybe your uncle, but that's it."

"That was Katara. You've probably heard about her in the news. We helped defeat Father. And I won't tell anyone. _Promise_."

Zuko sat the screaming Lu Ten down. The baby crawled to its mother, wanting to get away from the stranger who was holding him.

"So I'm a big brother, huh?" Zuko said to himself. "A brother to one who hopefully won't want to kill me."

"Azula never wanted to kill you," Ursa said.

"Uh, Mom, she kind of did."

"Okay. Maybe she did." They smiled at each other.

The sound of a door opening and closing was heard. Someone was entering the house.

"That's my husband, Zuko," Zuko's mother said. "You must go, son. Now!"

"Why?" Zuko asked.

"Just _go_! Come back here tomorrow. Noon. I'll explain then."

Zuko left, confused.

Back at the palace, Zuko found Katara the first place he looked—the sparring arena.

"Hey, Katara? Are you hungry? Dinner's ready," he said.

When he spoke, Katara jumped, ruined her concentration, messed up a Waterbending move, and drenched the soldier she was training against.

"Please _don't _scare me like that!" she yelled, turning on her heel.

"Well, I'm _so sorry_." Zuko apologized sarcastically.

"Did you find her?"

"Find who?"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Um, you're _mom_?"

"Oh. No. She just looked _extremely _like her."

"Okay. Let's go eat."

They walked, side by side, towards the palace, brushing shoulders every now and again. The two secretly enjoyed being this close to each other.

**Okay, yes. This is **_**extremely short**_**, but I'm just gonna post what I have 'cause I've worked on it long enough. If you're bored, it'll get interesting. I promise.**


	6. Captured

**I saw **_**The Last Airbender**_** the other day. I thought it was okay, but they could have at least pronounced the names right! If you saw it, send me a PM or something and tell me what you thought. I wanna know what other ATLA fans think.**

In the morning, Katara got up and threw on a blue and white kimono that she requested the previous night. The palace amazingly had one. She did her hair into a simple Water Tribe hairdo. Then she joined the others for breakfast.

Katara caught Zuko sneaking out of the palace later that day. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"Nowhere. I'm just going for a walk," he replied.

Katara leaned up on her tiptoes. "Can I go with you?"

"No. I want to be by myself, thank you very much."

"Okay."

As soon as Zuko disappeared around the corner, Katara headed after him, keeping her distance, of course.

A few minutes later, they reached Zuko's destination.

Zuko went in the door while Katara stayed outside and peered in the window.

"Zuko, I have something to tell you," the woman inside said.

_You're such a liar, Zuko_, Katara thought. _You did find your mom._

"Yes?" Zuko said.

"You had to leave yesterday because my husband came home. He thinks I'm not loyal to you. My husband is the rebel leader."

I gasped and was thankful Zuko did at the same time I did, or else my cover would have been blown.

"I just found out the other day, Zuko!" said Ursa. "Don't get upset! Please!"

Katara saw steam come out of Zuko's nose. He clenched his fists. After a minute or two, he slowly calmed down.

"I'm sorry," Ursa said, placing a comforting hand on her son's shoulder.

All of a sudden, Katara was grabbed from behind. "Zuk—," she said before being cut off my hand being placed over her mouth. Katara and her captor ducked down under the window so the two inside couldn't see them.

"You heard that, too?" Zuko asked, glancing at the window.

"Yes," the previous Fire Lady replied.

Zuko went outside to investigate. He saw two steps of footsteps. One looked like a man's footprint; the other, a woman's. The woman's steps looked like she was struggling. Zuko followed them until the trail ended at the forest nearby. He ran back to the house.

"I only found footprints, but they ended not far from here," Zuko said. "I better get home." He kissed his mother on the cheek.

**Z x K**

Deep inside the woods, Katara's captor let her go.

"Who are you?" Katara asked, her voice steady.

The man didn't respond.

"What do you want with me?"

The man didn't respond, yet again.

Katara rose up from her sitting position. With a little concentration, she pulled water from the leaves around her. She got into a defensive pose.

A few minutes later, the man decided to speak. "I don't want _you_…I want Prince Zuko."

"Maybe you didn't get the memo, but it's _Fire Lord_ Zuko now." He just laughed.

Z x K

Zuko didn't think anything of the incident earlier. At dinner, though, it became a big deal.

"Where is Katara?" Zuko asked. Nobody knew, so they couldn't give an answer.

"Nobody's seen her since you went on you walk," Iroh said.

_She must have followed me!_ Zuko thought. _Then what…?_ He quickly got up and ran outside. He ran to his mother's house, where the footprints started. He followed them to where they ended, but he didn't stop. He kept running, straight into the forest.

"_KATARA!_" He shouted.

**We only have eleven reviews! Come on, we can do better than that! I need motivation, people! No reviews = no story! **

**I'm only gonna work on this story and my **_**Titanic**_** story…but if you don't review, I might just work on that other story. I have plenty of reviewers over there. **_**Hmph**_**. **crosses arms over chest** **


	7. Rescued

"Agni, Katara! Where are you?" Zuko mumbled, pushing a branch out of his path. He felt the sun going down in the west.

I should get home before Uncle starts looking for me, Zuko thought, but went with his instincts and kept walking forward instead of going with his logical reasoning.

Z x K

Katara felt the power of the full moon encase her body. I finally have the chance to escape! She thought.

"I just know Zuko will be here soon," the man said.

"What makes you think he'll come for me?" Katara asked.

The man thought for a moment. "I just know."

Katara thought about her plan to escape. Bloodbending crossed her mind, but she quickly banished that thought. She felt around for nearby water. She felt it in the humid air, but she hadn't mastered that yet. She felt the water in the grass and trees and bushes.

When the man wasn't looking, Katara bent all the water from around her and started swirling it around her body. She aimed her water whip at the back of his head, hoping to hit him with enough force that it would knock him out.

Nope, it only made him angry. He charged after the Waterbender. Katara froze her water on the ground and prayed to La that he would slip. But, with her luck, he regained his balance before falling. He quickly resumed his quest in catching her.

The man surged forward and dived to grab her, making them both fall to the ground.

Z x K

"Get off me!" Zuko heard a familiar voice shout from somewhere. It was Katara's voice. Zuko took whatever energy he had left and ran forward in the direction of the sound.

Z x K

Katara heard somebody yell her name. She realized it was Zuko. "Over here!" she shouted back. She kicked the man in the side, which seemed to do practically nothing. "Zuko! Help!"

A few seconds later, Zuko appeared out from between the trees. Without making any sound, he skillfully pulled his mom's new husband (a.k.a his stepdad, but he didn't like that term) off his Water Tribe friend.

Katara concentrated on pulling water out of the grass, like she did much earlier. She froze the man to the ground. His fist was centimeters from Zuko's face.

"Thanks," Zuko said, watching the man as he started to slowly unfreeze himself.

"Now…we…run!" Katara said loudly.

**So here's this chapter. It's so short because I kinda sorta stole my sister's laptop (actually, I borrowed without permission which is **_**completely **_**different) and she's at her friend's house right now so if I don't want her to know I'm on here **_**and**_** submit this chapter, it **_**had**_** to be this short. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember to review! Maybe your reviews will encourage me even more to find my charger. (Trust me, I've been looking. I turned my house upside down looking for it.)**

**o, and happy Zutara week!**


	8. Not A Couple

**Before you read this, my cousin Kate co-authored this. So she wrote part of it. I posted this using her computer (since I'm spending the night), so I might post so more chappies later this evening. **

"Okay," Katara said, still running away from the man, "Who was that?"

"That was my...stepdad," Zuko said.

"You have a _stepdad_?"

"Yeah. I'll explain it later. Just keep running."

Katara pushed all her questions aside and kept running. She just barely managed to keep up with Zuko's long stride. Finally, they reached the Palace. Worn out from the evening's activities, went into their seperate bedrooms and fell asleep swiftly.

In the morning, after they woke up, they ate breakfast and immetiately went into a sparring session at the arena. It should have been a tie, but Zuko let Katara win.

After they each took showers and changed their clothes, they went down to the kitchen for lunch.

"How about we go out for lunch?" Zuko suggested. Katara agreed.

They went to the nearest diner. The little bell rang as the opened the door. They sat at the most private table, which was in the back corner.

"What can I get the lovely couple?" the waitress said. Katara and Zuko blushed.

"We're _NOT_ a couple!" Katara said loudly.

The waitress took a half step away from the furious Waterbender.

"I'll have water, please," Zuko said, ignoring Katara's outburst.

"Me, too," Katara said, now a little bit calmer.

The waitress went to the kitchen, then returned with their drinks.

"Now. Explain," Katara said, after the waitress took their orders.

Zuko explained everything to Katara. It took awhile for this to sink in. They were almost done with their meal before Katara finally spoke.

"A...A _rebel_? Really?" She stuttered.

"Yeah. I know. I didn't know what to say, either," Zuko responded.

"You guys would seriously look good together," the waitress said, placing the check on the table then running away back to safety.

"WE ARE _NOT _A COUPLE!" Katara yelled, slamming her fists on the table. All of the drinks on the surrounding tables sloshed out. When Katara stormed out of the building, Zuko smiled, placing the money on the table.

_**To Be Continued**_

**Everyone needs to check out the vid "The Zuko Song" on youtube. It's hilarious! (It's the first one) **

**(PS I _still_ haven't found my charger. Sorry :( )**

**Message from kate to everyone who reads this check out zuko is leavin' its funny! (on youtube) PEACE OUT SUCKERS!**

**pps check out 12 days of avatar now go away!**

**Note from KK Renee:**

**But, please, before you wach those vids, remember to review. **

The Review Button Is Right Here!

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	9. Lu Ten

**Kate co-authored this. She now had a FF account. Her pen name is zutarian603. In a few days, she's gonna post a story which will most likely be REALLY good, so keep an eye open. (It'll be co-authored by no other than KK RENEE!)**

When Zuko caught up with Katara, he put his arm around her, saying cooly, "Katara, just calm down. It's just one person."

Katara looked at him skeptically. "Why is your arm around me?"

"Uh...Um...A, um...Sorry." He took his arm off her shoulders, blushing.

They were opening the gates to the palace when Ursa stood up from her sitting position on the ground. She ran up to Zuko, a scared look on her face. "Zuko! Oh, thank Agni! You're finally here! Chang took Lu Ten!" Zuko and Katara were confused. Chang? Who was that? "Chang is my husband!"

"Where do you think he would have taken him?" Zuko asked.

"I don't know."

"We'll help you look for him," Katara said. "Wait. Zuko shouldn't go."

"Why not?" Zuko complained, sounding unlike himself and a lot like Sokka.

"He wants to get rid of you Zuko. _Rebel_, remember? He's still on your dad's side."

"That's true, Zuko. I want you to stay here. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm not staying here! There's nothing I can do by sitting around in the Palace all day!"

They were all quiet for a while. Ursa was the one to break the silence.

"You can organize a search party," she said. "Since it's the Fire Lord's brother, I'm pretty sure they'll want to have a search party."

Zuko started to protest, but Katara smacked him in the arm, saying, "He'll do it."

**Sorry it's short. I'm going back home in a few so I had to cut it short. I'll "steal" my sister's computer again (she's at a pool party) and I'll write another chapter.**

**Just remember to review.**

**Note from Kate (a.k.a zutarian603):**

**im going to write my story in a few days so read it... 6 ways to spread it around 1. tattoo it to your forhead 2. make a sign. 3. make a t shirt. 4 tell people. 5 shout it from your roof. 6. are you still reading this?**


	10. Feeling better?

"I don't like this," Zuko said, pacing around in the library. "It feels like there's _nothing_ I can do."

"You organized the search party," Katara said. She was out of harm's way in the corner of the room, practicing simple Waterbending moves. Zuko had already burned two tapestries, four books, and had thrown fireballs at the wall seven times—make that eight. "Zuko! _Calm down_! You're gonna burn the whole room down!"

Zuko sighed. He sat down in the closest chair.

"Maybe a sparring session would help," Katara suggested.

"But we already did one this morning."

"I know, but that doesn't stop us from having another one." She paused. "I'll meet you at the arena in fifteen minutes."

Zuko walked to his room. He changed into training clothes.

At the sparring arena, Zuko and Katara did their stretching routine together. Then they began.

Zuko made the first move. He shot a fireball aimed directly at her head. She sidestepped and it missed her by inches. Zuko shot two more at the same time. She ducked and aimed a water whip at his feet, hoping to knock him over. But Zuko was too fast. He jumped over it. They fought some more until Zuko managed to knock Katara down. She screamed in pain.

"My ankle!" She shouted. Zuko ran over to help her into a more comfortable position so she could heal herself. Just as he was helping her up, Katara pushed him down on the ground. She held an icicle to his throat. "Gotcha," she said with a smile.

"You lied," Zuko realized. Katara nodded.

The two stayed there for a while, unmoving. They were oblivious to someone walking in.

"_Katara!_" That person yelled, clearly not liking what he saw. Katara and Zuko's head turned towards the person who was speaking.

It was Sokka.

Katara and Zuko realized the position they were in. Katara was still on top of Zuko from where she pushed him down in a surprise attack. They blushed and quickly stood up.

Katara had déjà vu. This was like the many times Sokka had walked in on her and Aang. Now thinking of Aang, Katara debated on whether or not she should break up with him. There was definitely something between her and Zuko. She decided she would think about it later.

"_What_ were you _doing_?" Sokka said, acting as super-protective big brother.

"Sparring," Katara and Zuko said at the same time.

"Well it definitely did not look like it!"

"We were," Katara said, "then…"

"Then what?"

"The I kicked Zuko's butt!" she said playfully.

Zuko got defensive. "Did not! You cheated! I declare a rematch!"

"_Noooo_ rematch!"

"Feel better?" Katara said as Sokka pulled her out of the arena.

Zuko smiled. He felt better. He felt _much_ better.

**Okay, I don't even know what this chapter was…I kinda just threw it out there, but hey two chapters in one day. That's a record for me. Tell me what you think. I want to know what you think. You haven't reviewed the last two chappies I put out, you lazy-good-for-nothing readers!**

_The review button is right here._

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	11. It's a Fire Lord Thing

"I'm going to the market!" Katara called to Sokka who had been watching the turtle ducks for the past fifteen minutes. He looked up just in time to see her walk down the hall before she rounded the corner and was gone.

At the market, Katara bought some clothes and a bag of interesting, but tasty, food. Passing a newspaper stand, she briefly read the headline, which read: _Prince Zuko Falling for the Avatar's Girl?_ and glanced at the picture. It was the newest picture of Zuko and an older picture of her back when she had that childish braid. She picked it up, paid the man, and swiftly left.

Back at the Palace, Katara walked into Zuko's office without any warning.

"Look at this!" she yelled, slamming the paper down on his desk. The two guards that were outside the hallway peered in before Katara marched over to them and shut the double doors in their faces.

Zuko went pale after he read the article. This was _so _not good.

"We were just two friends who were _simply_ having dinner together!" Katara yelled, pacing. She ranted on, but Zuko paid no attention to what she was saying. Katara leaned on the desk. "_How_ are we going to clear this up? La, we have so much to deal with! There's that rebel and Lu Ten missing—"

"Calm down, Katara," Zuko said, placing a hand on her shoulder. A tingle shot down her arm.

"How are you not stressed?" Katara asked softly.

"I am. But I've learned not to show it. It's a Fire Lord thing."

They laughed quietly.

**Short? Yes. Zutara moment? Definitely. Next chapter soon? Totally. Are you gonna review? **_**YES OR I WILL USE MY AWESOME POWERS TO ANNILIATE YOU AND THEN "throw ya out the window, the window, the window!" **_**(If you haven't read my profile yet, the throw ya out the window part is an inside joke between me and SPRITEKIT (and you guys should **_**seriously**_** read her stories (if you like X-Men))**


	12. Am I in Love?

_Am I in love with Zuko?_ Katara thought. _Or am I in love with Aang?_ She paced around her room. _Should I break up with Aang?_ Katara's thoughts went on and on, repeating the same thing over and over and over.

Before she came up with a conclusion, Sokka came in. He clutched a letter in his hand. His expression was not the happy one he normally wore; this one was completely opposite.

"Sokka, what is it?" Katara asked.

It took a moment before he responded. "This letter was sent by messenger hawk. You need to read it."

Katara rushed over to her brother. She yanked the letter out of his hand.

_Fire Lord Zuko, Master Katara, and Chieftain Sokka,_

_I have written this letter to inform you that Avatar Aang has been fatally injured by a Fire Nation rebel, whose identity has not been discovered. Our best healers are trying to heal him, but he is still in critical condition. Avatar Aang wishes for his colleagues to visit him here in Ba Sing Se._

_Sincerely, _

_Official Chen Wang_

_Oh, Tui!_ Katara thought. She felt week at the knees. "Has Zuko read this letter?" she asked.

"Not yet," Sokka replied. "I thought you should be one of the first ones to know."

Katara ran to Zuko's room. She marched right in without knocking, much like she did the day before.

"We have to go to Ba Sing Se _now_!" she said.

"What for?"

She handed him the letter. Zuko's good eye widened by the time he was finished reading it.

"I will get the fastest airship we have up and running by sunset. We will leave then," Zuko said, leaving the room to go order some people around.

After she was all alone, Katara sat on the desk. She put a hand on her forehead and fought the tears that were getting ready to leak out of her eyes. She couldn't hold them back any longer and she started sobbing.

_Stop it, Katara!_ She thought. _Stop it! You need to be strong._

She gained control over her emotions she walked to her room, then Sokka's, to pack their clothes.

After dinner, they were off. They flew into the sunset*, ready for whatever was to come at Ba Sing Se.

***I know Ba Sing Se is in the east, but the world is round and the quicker way to get there is to go west. If you look at a map of the Avatar World, you'll understand.**

**K, so this is short, but I'm not gonna have time to write in the next few days so I decided to post what I had. I think from now on, I'm gonna try short chapters but post more often.**

**REVIEW OR I WILL ANNILATE YOU WITH MY AWESOME POWERS THEN "throw ya out the window, the window, the window!"**


	13. More to Come

"Aang!" Katara shouted, rushing into the room. She grabbed his hand.

"Hey, Katara," Aang said weakly. He was deathly pale, had dark circles under his eyes, and looked like he even had trouble breathing.

"So, what…happened?" Sokka asked, coming into the room and taking a place behind his sister. Zuko stood on the other side of the bed.

"Telling story…at the end…walking back…he snuck up on me and…_vanished_. I don't know how or…why…I couldn't stop him. I didn't even know he was…there." Aang looked like he was in pain.

"Are you okay?" Katara asked. "Where does it hurt?" Aang pointed to his side.

Katara pulled away his shirt and undid the bandages, only to reveal a nasty looking wound. She gasped. Pulling water out of the bowl that was somewhere behind her, she gloved her hands with it. She placed her hands on the wound as the water shined a bright blue. "Better?" she questioned.

"Much," Aang replied.

"You would think they would have sent for Water Tribe Healers," Zuko said. "Hm. Guess not."

"But I'm here and a few healing sessions everyday might help," Katara said.

They were silent for a while. Katara tried healing again, which brought some results.

"I don't want to be rude, but…I'm super tired, guys. I need to go to sleep. Sorry," Aang announced.

"We understand, Aang. Don't worry," Sokka said. "I gotta see when Suki gets here, anyway."

"You can't get keep getting hurt like this," Katara said jokingly, remember when he got shot by Azula's lightning. That was one of the most frightening times of her life. That and when Zuko also got shot by Azula's lightening. And when her mother was killed. And when…_Man_, Katara thought, _I've gone through a lot…_

And she didn't even know how much more there was to come.

**Not much point to this chapter. But, I actually had time to write today and I have writer's block so put up with me. There will be a Zutara moment in the next chapter and maybe something a little surprising…(it might or might not be surprising, depending **

**You guys have to review or I won't post the wanted Zutara moment until later (nobody wants that) and then I will (I'm gonna post this at the end of every chapter) ANNIHILATE YOU WITH MY AWESOME POWERS THEN "THROW YA OUT THE WINDOW, THE WINDOW, THE WINDOW!" Okay, maybe I'm not serious about the annihilating part, but I am **_**very**_** serious about the delaying-the-zutara-moment part, so, if you want it, REVIEW!**

**(PS yes, I am hyper right now)**

**(PPS I hate this chapter, too. For this chapter **_**only**_** I will accept flames, k? If you do, I will send Ozai to get you!)**

**(PPSS And if you think my chapters are going downhill, it's ok to let me know. I'm gonna make the next chapters better!)**

**(PPPSS Long A/N, but who cares?)**


	14. Supposed To

**Who's ready for a Zutara moment? I am! I totally should be doing my pre-alg (aka math, but pre-alg sounds so much cooler) homework now, but I so don't wanna do it.**

**(PS I'm listening to a whole bunch of songs, so the mood of the chap might take a drastic turn, depending on what song I'm listening to. Maybe.) **

**(PPS I forgot to put Toph in the last chapter, but she's already there BTW. She was there for a long time, since she's like just down the street and all, so forgive me.)**

Katara and the gang had been with Aang for a week now. Healing sessions definitely helped. Aang was able to come out of his room to eat dinner at the table in the dining room down the hall.

Suki arrived just a day or two later. When she walked in the room at dinner, the look on Sokka's face was almost comical. His eyes were a mile wide and he had noodles hanging out of his mouth. After trying not to choke to death, he sprang from his chair and gave his fiancé a hug and lifted her off the ground.

"You weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow afternoon!" Sokka exclaimed, receiving a long, not-that-interesting explanation from Suki.

After the dishes were put away and the table was cleared by gAang (Katara insisted that they did it and gave the servants the rest of the night off, which Sokka did not like much), Katara went into Aang's room for a healing session. She went inside without knocking, which was a _big_ mistake. She walked in on Toph and Aang…_kissing_. They were actually _kissing_! Katara spun on her heel and marched away, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She bumped into Zuko on the way to her room, but quickly avoided his questions.

_Why am I acting like this?_ Katara thought to herself. _I don't like Aang that much anymore, anyway_. During the past week, she had decided that she had to dump Aang. There wasn't that familiar spark that she got when she was near him anymore.

_Knock, knock_, someone was rapping on the door. She wiped the tears from her eyes to see who it was. It wasn't Aang, it wasn't Toph, it wasn't Sokka. It was Zuko, of all people.

"What do you want, Zuko?" She asked gruffly, not in the mood to talk to anybody.

"I want to know what the matter is," he replied, just a hint of concern on his voice. "What happened in Aang's room? You shot out of there, as fast as a cheetah-rabbit."

"Nothing, nothing." She rested her head on her forehead.

"Doesn't look like 'nothing.'" He pulled her hand away from her face so she'd look up at him. "Katara. Tell me."

The two walked deeper into the room and sat on the bed. And Katara talked about what happened. When she finished, she put a hand over her mouth. _What did I do? Why did I tell_ him_ that? He used to be my enemy!_ She thought. But, actually, she didn't regret it. She felt better, even.

Zuko reached over and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. The Waterbender was too shocked to move away from him.

There was another _knock, knock_ on the door. It was Sokka this time. "Katara? Are you in there? Are you okay? You weren't in Aang's room or anywhere else, so I came here," her brother asked. She didn't respond. "Katara?"

"You should go," Katara whispered to Zuko. "Sokka barely likes to see me alone with Aang. You don't want to find out what happens if he sees me with you." Louder, she said, "Just a second, Sokka! I'm not decent!" Zuko rolled his eyes at the last thing Katara said before dashing off to hide in the bathroom. Wiping any remaining tears from her face, she opened the door.

"I'm fine," she said and shut the door in his face.

"Yeah, right." He tried opening the door, but Katara put all her strength into keeping it shut. She pulled water from outside (it was raining) and froze the door, so Sokka couldn't get in. "C'mon, Katara! Let me in!"

"I'm fine!" She yelled back. "Go away!"

With one last push on the door, Sokka marched off. He was grumbling incoherently as he walked away. Katara tried to make out what he was saying. "I'll find out sooner or later," was what Katara thought he said.

"Zuko, it's okay to come out now," Katara softly called.

He strode over to her and placed a hand on her cheek. They looked deep into each other's eyes, as if seeing their soul. Zuko tilted his head down; Katara stretched up. They didn't know what they were doing; they were so caught up in the moment. After was felt like forever, their lips met. Zuko tired deepening the kiss, but he was too late. Katara's brain started functioning again, and she pulled away, panting.

"Oh, La, what are we doing?" she asked.

"Katara—," Zuko began.

"_No_. I'm not supposed to like you, we're supposed to be enemies, I'm supposed to like Aang, not you!"

"Katara—," he tried again.

"Maybe you should leave," Katara suggested.

Zuko left silently. He knew he wouldn't get anywhere if he said anything back.

"Oh, Tui," Katara sighed, flopping down on her bed.

**Like it? Love it? Hate it? **

**Review**

**-OR-**

**I will have Ozai HUNT YOU DOWN, kill you, then have Aang use his Avatar powers to resurrect you, then I will annihilate you, then "Throw ya out the window, the window, the second story window!"**

**(O, BTW, that song is on my profile, if you'd like to see how the whole song goes.)**


	15. Aang's Fault

**I really hate this time of the month. Today's 9/11. Such an awful day in history. I'm sorry to those who lost loved ones on this day, nine years ago.**

Katara managed to avoid everyone for the rest of the day. But, she got hungry sooner or later, so in the middle of the night she sneaked down to the kitchen to grab something to eat.

Tip-toeing, she walked out of her room, down the hall and some steps, then to the left to the kitchen.

She sighed in relief that she didn't get caught—too late. Sokka was digging around in a cabinet, looking for anything good.

_Of course he's here_, Katara thought.

"Now can you tell me what's the matter?" Sokka asked with his mouth full, as always.

"Everything," Katara admitted. "Aang and Zuko."

"I knew it had to do with Zuko! What he do to you this time?"

"Zuko didn't do anything! It's all Aang's fault."

"Oh." Sokka sank down in a chair.

It was quiet. The only sounds were the trees hitting the window and the wind blowing through the leaves.

"C'mon, little sister, you can tell me anything," Sokka said after about five minutes.

"Aang was kissing Toph," Katara said so quickly and quietly that Sokka barely heard was she said.

"He what?"

"I shouldn't've told you." Katara stood up and started to walk away before he brother grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"I'm sorry. Now what's the problem with Zuko?"

Katara doubted telling him the next part of her story. How would he react this time?

"Nothing. Never mind."

"'Tara! C'mon, tell me."

"He—," Katara began, but then Toph came running into the room.

"Guys! We think we know where Lu Ten is!"

**Yes, yes. Short chapter. But I'm busy today cuz we're going to my great-grandmother's birthday party. And I'm just gonna put what I have before I leave. **

**How about I give a shout out in the chapters to all who review? Would get you guys reviewin'?**

**PS shouldn't've isn't really a word, but it's what everyone says instead of "shouldn't have."**


	16. Should've Been Like Your Father

**Okay, so here's this. I've haven't had time to do much lately. Been really busy. Here are a few things I've been doing: basketball try-outs, I reread almost all of the **_**Harry Potter**_** books before the movie came out, I had some drama with my (now ex-)best friend, etc. Oh, and a few days after I got my charger back, I dropped my computer and it BROKE! It just wouldn't turn on. But that's clumsy little me, for ya.**

**Thanks to those who reviewed! I'm sorry if I forgot some of you people, but I'll try to list everyone.**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaysTheAnswerx, lil' millie (or IamChimpy now, I think), Meegan, Escapedslave99, Iceblossom22, Untilthemoonrises, jadelyn3352, Gazingmoon, and an anonymous person—thanks for reviewing!**

**So, read on!**

"Details—now," Katara demanded. "But just what I need to know."

"Well, I don't know much. One of the maids came into my room, wondering where you were. She said Zuko sent her. She also said they think they found Lu Ten."

"And where is Zuko?"

"Front courtyard, I think."

Katara darted out of the room.

"So, you and Aang, huh?"

"Shut up, Snoozles."

In two minutes' time, Katara had found her way to the courtyard. "Zuko?" She called to the dark figure standing in the shadows. She heard a baby's cry.

"Oh, Katara. You're here. Will you help me?" he asked, indicating to the fussy baby.

"Sure." She walked over to him, took the baby, and calmed him down by singing a few traditional Water Tribe songs and by rocking him. After a few minutes, Katara started to hand Lu Ten back to Zuko, but he refused.

"It's probably best that you hold him; he hates me." Katara nodded.

They were silent for a moment. "So, what happened?"

"Not much…Out here for a walk; clear my head, you know? I heard a baby crying. It was really strange, so I went to look. I found Lu Ten in basket, with a note on top of him." He handed Katara the letter.

_You should've been more like your father and sister._

Katara was confused. "What's the point in giving Lu Ten back I he's trying to get to you?"

"That's what I was thinking."

"And the 'you should've been more like your father and sister…' Just because you didn't turn out to be some freak who wants to take over the world—no offense—"

"None taken."

"Doesn't mean—oh, never mind. I don't know where I'm going with this. We should get inside."

They headed to Zuko's room (where the maids were supposed to have set up a spare cradle that they had fortunately found). Ursa was still at the Fire Nation.

Katara had so many questions inside her head. _How did Lu Ten get over to Ba Sing Se so quickly? _She thought. _Why did Chang being Lu Ten back? What was the point in that?_

Halfway to their destination, Zuko and Katara ran into Aang, Toph, Sokka, and Suki. Katara avoided Aang's apology look. She just didn't know what to say if they locked gazes.

"Whoa," Sokka said. "You can _feel_ the awkwardness."

Katara rolled her eyes, as did many others.

There was more silence. And, also, more awkwardness, as Sokka pointed out.

"Katara, I—," Aang began.

"Aang, it's fine. I understand. We've been away from each other for a while, we've grown apart, it's fine," Katara said. "We can talk about later. Right now, I need to get Lu Ten settled. He's getting fussy again."

**Again, short, I know. I'm leaving my Mimi's cabin today and I didn't have time to finish this. I'm sorry. But I'll write more tonight and tomorrow. I promise. From now on, I'll mention the person who reviewed and I'll answer the reviews on the chapter. Maybe that'll make you guys feel special and stuff, so you'll review more.**


	17. Coward

**I don't know what to say in this A/N since I just posted the last chapter a little bit ago. But, is anyone watching the WVU/VMI basketball game today? (I'm rooting for WVU!)**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaysTheAnswerx: Thanks. I was aiming to entertain.**

**And, oh yeah, thanks to those who favorited/alerted the story. **

Katara and Zuko walked towards Zuko's room wordlessly. Zuko had nothing to say; Katara didn't want to talk.

A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination. As ordered, a cradle was set up in the corner of Zuko's room, along with a few blankets. Katara set the almost asleep baby in the cradle. She waited for him to fall fully asleep before heading out to leave.

_What a night_, Katara thought. _I'm ready for bed…I'm still hungry, too._ Her stomach growled in agreement. _Guess I'll just wait until breakfast._

Standing outside her door, she heard a noise coming from within her room. She quickly went into her room.

"Hello?" she asked, as she saw a dark figure jump out her window. She went over to investigate. A noted on the desk read,

_All a game. A game to get to "Fire Lord" Zuko. Long live the Phoenix King!_

"What is _with_ the notes?" Katara asked herself. "Seriously. The coward should just show himself already."

Katara yawned. She crawled under her warm, emerald-green sheets. Even with everything on her mind, she fell asleep in no time.

**I need ideas, people. I'm running on whatever scrap I can find in my head. Do you guys have any ideas or something I should change? Or some concrit. Please, please, please? That's why the chap's so short. And I'm sorry. But at least I posted yesterday, too.**


	18. Bending Battle

**Meegan: Thanks! You made me smile!**

**xSerenityxIsn'txAlwaysxThexAnswer: yepp**

**Anonymous Person #1: Thanks.**

**Anonymous Person #2: Thanks to you, also.**

**Okay, so that's all who reviewed for Ch. 22...I don't think I did Ch. 21's reviews, so I'm sorry that I didn't reply to them, if I haven't already. But I'm just to tired to do the rest of them... Enjoy the chapter! **hint hint** There's a little Zutara at the end, for ya.**

**OMG! 3 weeks until 2011!**

At breakfast the next morning, Zuko was the last one to sit get to the informal dining room. Katara noticed he had dark circles under his eyes, as if he'd been up all night long.

"Have a good night?" Katara snickered.

"No." snapped Zuko, as he was in a bad mood. "The stupid baby kept me up all night long."

"Lu Ten is not stupid," Aang said. "He's only a helpless little baby. It's your fault for having him sleep in there with you."

Zuko sat down roughly in a chair. "Well, I was only trying to keep him protected."

"Anyone else could have done it and be just fine with it, too," Katara added.

"Let's just eat. I don't feel like talking anymore."

"I won't object to that," Sokka said.

Everyone started eating at once. It was silent, save the sound of chewing and chopsticks hitting the plates. Suki started up some small talk, which made the breakfast some-what pleasant.

When everyone was done eating, Zuko stood up abruptly, almost knocking his chair over. "I'll be in my office, if anyone needs me."

"Someone needs to blow of some steam," said Katara.

"We should have a spar against the elements!" Sokka said. "Me and Suki'll ref!"

"Sounds like fun."

"No. Thank. You," Zuko said. "I'm too tired."

"Since when were you one for excuses?" Katara ran up to beside of Zuko, grabbed his arm, and started leading him to the courtyard. She motioned for everyone else to follow. "This will be fun."

"Oh, sure." Katara rolled her eyes at Zuko's sarcastic words.

Z x K

With everyone in a separate corner of the courtyard, and Sokka and Suki safely on a pillar several feet above them, Sokka started to state the rules. "Rules are," he said. "There are no rules." Katara found this very cheesy. "Except, Aang, you must _only_ use air, or else it's not really fair. Oh, and try not to hurt each other…_too_ badly. Ready? Set? BEND!"

All at once, mass chaos began. There was water splashing everywhere, pebbles seemed to fall out of the sky, the winds picked up, and fire licked dangerously at everything it could reach. After what felt like hours, Aang backed out from exhaustion. He joined Sokka and Suki on the Earthbended pillar. A while later, Katara had somehow managed to pin down Toph. Even Katara didn't know how she did it, since Toph was putting up such great defense.

"Toph! You're out!" Sokka called. Toph stalked of, muttering under her breath. Katara didn't have time to figure out what she was saying, since a wall of fire started heading towards her. Using water to propel herself up, she jumped over the six-foot high barrier of fire.

_It _always_ comes down to us, doesn't it?_ Katara thought, desperate to find some way to beat Zuko. She had been sparring for hours, and was weakening, but Zuko seemed far from tiring, even though he had a sleepless night.

Katara backed up swiftly into the small patch of trees, trying to give herself some cover while she thought. She tried to bend water out of the leaves, but she was too tired and only managed to pull a few droplets.

She heard a rustle in the tree above her, but blamed the wind for the disturbance. Katara scanned the enclosure for a sign of Zuko, but found none. She looked up in the trees again as Zuko jumped down from above her and grabbed her wrists.

Zuko looked into Katara's blue eyes. She stared back into his for a little bit. Then she snapped out of it quickly.

"Okay. You won," she said. "You can let me go now."

Zuko let go of her hands hastily. He turned and stalked out towards the emerald palace. Speechless, Katara followed him. She went straight to her room to wash up. She avoided any questions from Sokka or anyone else as to who won. She would tell them later, but now she needed to clear her head.

**Okay, this is short, yes, but it's 671 words long (excluding A/Ns) and if you put it that way, it sounds longer. But I wrote this in, like, 45 minutes. I worked on projects all day long and now it's almost time for me to go to bed. I'm wearing my PJ's backwards tonight, so that I might get a Snow Day tomorrow and write, but probably not. There was supposed to be a big snowstorm this weekend, but it hasn't come, so maybe it'll come tonight. **

**Does anyone:**

**have any questions about the story?**

**see anything that I'm doing wrong or should change for the future? **

**or do you want to just simply praise my story?**

**If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, hit the review button and leave me a note!**


	19. Fire Nation Pride

**Anime-freek14: This. One's. For. You. Consider it a Christmas present from me!**

**sassyfiestycrazychic: So, we got the snow! Hope you got some…**

**Anonymous Person: We got this **_**huge**_** snowstorm…Only two inches of snow! How amazing is that? *she says sarcastically* I'm amazed at how we got a snow day.**

**Oh, I'm watching the show, by the way. So, I'm distracted by the awesomeness of it. Right now, as I type this I'm watching "The Cave of Two Lovers." This one's really funny. **

"**Badger moles coming towards me, c'mon guys, help me out…"**

**This chapter is for M. Forbes, an awesome reviewer!**

"So, who won?" Sokka asked Katara. "Please say Water, please say Water!" He crossed his fingers.

"Yes, I won, Sokka," said Katara.

"Yes!" He jumped up in the air. "Water rules!" He proceeded to do a little dance in victory…until Toph punched him in the arm.

Later that night, that dark figure appeared in Katara's room again, which made her very annoyed. _Seriously?_ She thought. _I mean, c'mon._ Katara decided to follow him.

The figure jumped out the window. Katara grabbed he water skins and put them on. Then she grabbed water from the basin in her room to make a slide down from her window.

Once on the ground, she stuck to the shadows and followed the figure, which seemed oblivious to her exit. The figure lead her past the town and towards a mountain. They were a quarter up the side of it when Katara realized she should get the heck out of there.

Before she could do anything, a hand clamped over her mouth and the other hand wrapped around her arms. She kicked the person in the shins. Without a glance back, she ran down the path. She tripped on a tree root just then. _Argh! Get up, Katara!_ She thought. _Get the water out._ She did just that.

A stream of water floated between her hands, ready to move at a moment's notice. "Who's there?" She called out. "Show yourself!"

In fact, several people showed themselves. Two had bows-and-arrows, standing on either side of her. Two had fire daggers in either hand; one was standing several feet in front of her and she could tell someone was behind her by the heat of the dagger. Then someone dropped down in front of her, standing close enough to Katara that she could smell his horrid breath.

That person was the dark figure that was in her room.

"Are you scared?" the man asked.

"Eh, I've been in worse," she said casually, without dropping her stance.

"Have you, now?"

"Mhm. And I was just on my way home, so if you'll excuse me…" She started to walk cautiously back down the path. And arm shot in front of her.

"Stay," the man commanded. "I have you here. I won't let you leave again, unless you bring me Zuko."

"Eck, on this again, Chang?" The man, Chang, looked surprised that she knew his name. "You really need to find a new hobby."

"Follow," said Chang. As Katara was beginning to protest, Chang said, "Obey or be killed."

"Great."

Katara followed Chang further up the mountain. The whole way up, she felt the weight of the gaze of the people behind her.

They made their way up to the opening of a cave. There were about twenty men and women wondering around the camp, doing different tasks. Katara could tell they had just set up camp. Apparently, they had been following them and Chang had just been sent ahead to scout out the area.

They were all _very_ Fire Nation. They were all wearing deep, dark reds. The Fire Nation insignia hung on the back of the shallow cave. The tents were black with a red insignia on them, too. Katara stood out in her Water Tribe blues.

"You shall sit and we shall wait," said Chang. "You will not Bend, you will not fight. You will take what is offered to you and you will only speak when spoken to."

"Yes, sir," Katara said, mock-saluting him.

She sat in the corner of the cave, at its mouth. She closed her eyes, but kept her ears open for sound of anyone coming close to her. She was offered bread. She took it like she was told to, but instead of eating it (incased it was poisoned), she threw it down the hill. _I'll eat just when I have to,_ she decided. _Just enough to keep me alive._

Z x K

Katara wasn't found missing until later the next day. It was by a maid, who after searching the grounds for her, finally fearfully told Zuko, afraid of how mad he might get. But he didn't. He calmly said, "Thank you," and dismissed the servant.

He didn't tell anyone else, however, about Katara, except for his uncle. Zuko was going to leave to find her. There had been reports on some rebels' hideout up on a nearby mountain. He packed and left, just like that.

**Okay, so I wasn't very original on this chapter, but I'm COMPLETELY OUT OF IDEAS! So, if anyone had ideas, let me know! Oh, if anyone would like to beta for me, let me know. Except, I don't know how the whole beta-thing works, so you have to know how to do that. You also have to be able to edit my story well, give me ideas, and be able to suffer through my babble, weirdness, or anything else that I might put you through. Kapeesh? Kapeesh. lol**


	20. At Sunset

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx: Thanks. Hopefully, my chapters will be longer after school is over. (Two of my projects got pushed back 'til next nine-weeks, so after I finished those, I'll be writing more again.)**

**fanatasyisthenewreal: I will keep writing. Not having a beta won't stop me. **

**Meegan: I like that idea! :)**

**Sassyfiestycrazychic: Thanks. Well, it's almost Christmas, so maybe you'll get some now. I'm praying for a white Christmas. **

**Anime-Freek14: That's good. I'm a Fanfiction-tard, too. **

**When the Moon Goes Red: lol Did I review your last chap, too? I forgot if I did or not.**

**This is the last chapter where I'm gonna respond to reviews in the chap, depending on what you guys think. Cuz someone reviewed on another one of my stories saying that I made my A/Ns too long. So, I guess I'll just say reviewers names in the A/N. But do you guys like me responding to reviews in the chapter or not? Would you rather me PM you a response back? **

**Speaking of that, this is gonna be a huge A/N. But I need to talk to you guys cuz I'm in a talkative/hyper mood.**

**Firstly, happy late Christmas, New Year's Eve, and any other holidays that were at that time of year. I don't know them all, so I'm not going to say them all. Secondly, what do you think of my story so far? I need feedback. I started to write an outline. (It's this professional-writer thing that I need to get in the habit of.) So I now know where I'm going with this, sort of. We have 73 reviews. Can we make it 80? February 1****st**** is the 1****st**** anniversary of this story! Yay! Thirdly, are my characters OOC? I really think Katara is cuz I've been reading **_**Maximum Ride**_** by James Patterson (which are the BEST BOOKS **_**EVER**_**!) and I think I'm making Katara a lot like Max. Fourthly, I reread my story to help write the outline and…"oh my good**_**ness**_**" (-Stevie Rae, **_**House of Night**_**) I think it's awful. How did you guys make it through all the way here? Some of the stuff I said didn't even make sense! I still need a beta, if anyone is still reading this. If you're not, I left a reminder at the bottom of the chap. Okay, I think I'll stop talking now and let you read. Including this sentence, this A/N was 406 words long. **

Katara heard a branch snap several feet from the cave. Her head snapped up and her eyes flew open. Someone stepped out of the shadows.

That certain someone was Jet. Katara gasped. What was _he _doing here?

"Hello, Katara," Jet said, plopping down beside of the Water Tribe girl.

"Hello, Jet," Katara said dryly. She turned away from him, not sure of if she could trust him or not. His loyalties had always been wayward.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. I thought you were against the Fire Nation." She turned back to face him.

"I asked first," Jet retorted.

"Because I am," Katara replied. "I don't want to be, but I am, okay? Your 'leader' captured me."

Jet nodded. "Now it's my turn to answer, isn't it? Well, I'm here because I, well, I am, I want, I need to be here."

He actually _wanted_ to be here? Maybe he was still brainwashed, which could be likely. He had tried to kill them before, so maybe he was still under that influence of the Dai Li.

Katara knew she could've ran from the place, but if the others caught up to her, she couldn't take on twenty at once. She could barely take on seven people at once, let alone twenty. If no one came for her a few days, she would test her limits.

"Katara," she heard her name whispered. She recognized the voice instantly. It was Zuko. She couldn't turn her head to see him because she was watched constantly. So instead, she turned as if looking over the treetops. Katara still couldn't see him, but it was the closest she was going to get.

"Yes," she breathed, barely able to hear even herself. Her mouth barely moved.

"As soon as the sun sets, you run. I'll come behind you and keep up the best I can. I'll hold them off."

Katara didn't say anything in return. Zuko was afraid she didn't hear him.

**Z x K**

Several minutes past sunset, Katara still had not ran. A half-eaten apple rolled down the steep hill. Zuko dared himself to peer around the corner. And was shocked at what he saw. Jet was kissing Katara.

**Z x K**

Katara was sitting there, waiting for the sun to sink down below the mountains. Jet had resumed his place beside of her after he had eaten by the fire. But now, he was sitting closer than normal. Jet handed Katara an apple, which she gratefully ate.

Jet moved his face close to hers. She didn't notice because she had closed her eyes. They flew open when a set of lips found hers.

Katara pushed at his chest, trying to get him off. She dropped her apple, too, and it rolled down the steep slope, bouncing a little bit. Just then, Zuko's face appeared at the entrance of the cave. Jet finally stopped, but Zuko had seen it all.

Zuko looked really angry to Katara. Fire came out of his hands and flew over everyone's heads. Katara turned, shielding herself. A few of the tents caught fire. Katara used this as a distraction to get herself out of there. She practically had to drag Zuko so he wouldn't go back there and hurt everyone there, or worse, hurt himself.

**Z x K**

"Katara!" Sokka shouted. He ran over to his sister and gave her a hug. "I was so worried about you!" Katara gave the rest of her friends hugs, too.

"Why's Sparky so mad?" Toph asked.

"He saw Jet kissing me…and he freaked out, I guess."

**Z x K**

Days passed and Zuko had not spoken a work to Katara. Did he really think that she wanted Jet to kiss her? Jet kissing her was far from what she wanted. He had to realize that.

A few nights ago, Aang and Katara had talked. They came to the conclusion that they weren't right for each other. But they made the promise that this wouldn't sever their friendship. They still had to be friends for the gAang, and they were just fine with that.

**Okay, people...like I said earlier, the offer is still up for a beta. Just think about it, okay? Even if you don't know much about it, maybe we can work out the chinks and learn cuz I figured out how docX works! :) I the blondest brunette you'll ever find. (Sorry, all the blondes out there! I'm not a hypocrite and well, just don't get offended. Some people can get offended real easy, so don't sue me. The reason I'm saying this is probably because I have a big heart and stuff, so it's on my conscience if I think I hurt someone's feelings.) You know what, I might not need a beta anymore for this story cuz I think it might be almost over. Tear. But let me know if you want the job. Sorry. I'm talkative today. **


	21. He Was Going Quickly

All awkwardness between anyone in the palace faded. Everyone took turns babysitting Lu Ten. Suki and Katara often took their turns together, for they had the most fun with Lu Ten then. They would play games with him. Their subconscious was imagining as them in the future when one of them had a family and the other was that child's aunt. **(A/N: Does that make any sense to anyone? I don't know how else to word it. They're practicing for the future, when they have families, which I thought was kinda cute.)**

Everything was peaceful, the first time in weeks.

That peace didn't last long.

They had received word that Azula had broken out of her prison. She killed three guards in the process. No one knew where she was now; there were no clues to where she had gone, either. The Fire Nation had heavy security everywhere and the other nations had been warned.

One night, Katara stood out on the balcony from her room. She could see the whole city from there and what she saw wasn't good.

Several houses were caught on fire. They lit up the night sky so brightly; it might as well have been noon. She saw a large group of people walking slowly toward the palace. Behind them, dozens of people ran out of their houses, screaming and trying to protect their loved ones.

Katara raced out of her room and downstairs to the commons, where several of her friends were still lingering.

"The city is on fire!" she shouted. "We have to help!"

The others were confused. "What?" Suki asked.

"The city. Is on. _Fire_," Katara said slowly.

The others jumped into action. Sokka went to wake anyone who could help up. Katara, followed by Suki, Toph, and Aang ran out of the commons and down a long hallway. They made their way to the chaotic streets of Ba Sing Se. Aang and Toph built trenches to stop the movement of the fire. Katara heard someone crying in a nearby flaming house. Two parents were outside, crying, for they could not find a way in to save their child. Using water as a barrier, Katara ran into the house.

**Z x K**

Zuko made it to burning buildings just in time to see Katara run into a house. A pang of fear shot through him. _She's going to get hurt_, Zuko repeated over and over in his head. _She's going to hurt herself. _This mantra kept him fueled as he made his way through the door. The ceiling collapsed to his right and he heard a yelp.

"Katara!" he shouted. He heard a weak response, but he couldn't tell where it was from.

"Help me, please!" The voice sounded like a little boy, maybe seven or eight years old.

Zuko ventured forward. The wood creaked and groaned. It was all going to fall any minute now. "Where are you?"

"Here…" The boy coughed. Zuko took a few more steps and caught sight of blue and green.

Katara was half-bent over the boy, passed out. Her forearm had gotten burned. Part of the wall had caved in, falling on top of them both. Zuko pulled the debris off of the two. He hoisted Katara up and into his arms and had the little boy hang on to his arm and follow him **(Zuko)** closely.

The trio made it out, mostly safe and sound. The boy was reunited with his parents. Zuko had set Katara on the ground. He was trying to wake her up. She finally regained consciousness several frightening minutes later.

**Z x K**

The first face Katara woke up to was her brother's. She slowly sat up and glanced at her arm. She suddenly remembered where she was, what was happening. The numbed pain was quickly returning. She felt for water and, after finding it, she soon healed herself, but it left a faint pink mark on her arm.

"Help me up," she said. Zuko and Sokka grabbed one of her arms each and pulled her up. "We have to hurry. When I got here, I saw people—the rebels—they we walking that way." She pointed down the street. "There's not much we can do here. By the time we get these fires out, at least twenty new houses will be burned to the ground. We have to stop it at its source."

Zuko and Sokka agreed with her.

"Sokka, you, Suki, and Toph stay here and try to put out the fires. Katara, Aang, and I will go stop the rebels."

"But you three can't take them all out!" Sokka complained.

"Have you not been with us this past year? You and Suki and Toph took out and a whole airship fleet, Aang took out of a whole fleet of Fire Navy ships _by himself_. And me and Zuko stopped Azula," Katara said.

_Sometimes I think he forgets what we've been through,_ Katara thought.

**Z x K**

It took twenty minutes until Zuko, Katara, and Aang found the rebels. Their trail was easy to follow. The three hid in non-burning brush while they assessed a plan. Aang would come up the rear, with Katara and Zuko on either side.

On the count of three, they all ran to their positions. They stealthily took out their ranks one by one. Soon, they were noticed. The Waterbender, Firebender, and Avatar had to fend for themselves, as the rebels were attacking them. It worked as a good distraction, though.

Katara did a scan of all the rebels marching. There was more than what she saw in the cave that day. Maybe there were others already in the city, waiting, but she didn't have time to think of that because she saw Zuko surround by a whole bunch of people. She couldn't see him anymore because of the swarm around him.

Katara saw a crack of lightning and maniacal laughter. The worse came to mind. She jumped over people, trying to get across the crowded street. The people around Zuko faded away. They thought they had done part of their mission, and now they were continuing on their original path to get the Earth King this time.

"Zuko!" Katara shouted. She crouched down beside the wounded Fire Lord.

Katara checked to see if he was breathing. He was, but just barely. She felt his pulse, but it was very faint. He was going quickly.

"Katara…" Zuko said weakly. "I…love…you." He closed his eyes and Katara couldn't feel his breath anymore.

_To be continued…_

**OOOOHHHHH….cliffie. Haha.**

**Okay, so I haven't said a disclaimer in a while. I do not, or have ever, or shall ever own **_**A:tLA**_**. **

**So, boo hoo, the story's almost over! Awwww. IDK how many chapters are left, but I know just a few. Under eight I think, but more than three. So, does anyone have anything that I should do before this is over? Any changes I need to make? Let me know—quickly, like, **_**right now.**_

**Um, I don't think I'll need a beta for this story anymore, but if any of you would like to help me on my other stories, please let me know. I think I'll work on "When the World Shattered" next, but if I get an offer for the other one ("The Modern Benders") I'll do that one after I make some changes to it…So, well, bye!**


	22. Laughter

**I struggle with fight scenes, so bear with me, it will get better! Oh, and thanks to Meegan and Untilthemoonrises and InSaNe ChErRy BlOsSoM (who keeps changing her name and I can't keep up) for reviewing and to the people who favorited/alerted. **

**(P.S. I'm watching the first season of **_**A:tLA**_** cuz my mom bought us the movie and she watched it (I had to leave the room or else I would throw a pillow at the TV), but, anyway, I'm trying to say that you know you're obsessed with **_**Avatar**_** when you know every line to every episode. =D Stop laughing; get serious. This is a serious chapter.)**

"No!" Katara screamed. Sobs racked her body until she was shaking fiercely. Sokka kneeled behind Katara. Aang had gotten help. He knew they weren't going to stop them all, so he had called for backup from the others.

"Katara," Sokka whispered softly. He never liked Zuko much, but he couldn't stand to see his sister this way. Sokka pulled his sister close. Katara eventually gave into the hug and soon soaked the shoulder of his shirt with tears.

"He's _dead_…," said Katara. "It c-can't be."

A thought suddenly came to her head. Azula. It fit together like a puzzle. She broke out of prison. The laughter—it was hers. It had to be.

Katara broke away from Sokka and ran as fast as she could towards the rebels. Sokka was shocked. When he recovered, Katara was already far away.

**Z x K**

Katara _had_ to get there. She had to get Azula. "Where are you?" Katara growled. Nobody had seen her _this_ mad before and she was actually quite frightening.

There is was. That laugh. Katara froze, listening for it again, trying to get some sense of where they were.

Images of that night at the end of the war flashed through her head. It had taken two of them to take her down and Katara couldn't even redirect the lightning if it came her way.

**Z x K**

"Oh, she'll be coming our way," Azula sneered. "When she does, it'll be my fight, my fight alone."

"But, Princess," began a former Fire Navy lieutenant, "wouldn't it be easier if we were there to help you?"

"_I don't need any _'_help_,'" she said, striking the lieutenant dead. "It's _my fight_ to win and hers to lose."

**Z x K**

"Maybe I could try," Aang suggested. He'd never done it before, but here was a chance. He coated his hands and placed them on Zuko's nasty burn. As hard as he tried, Aang could not get that water to glow. "How does Katara do it?"

"Maybe it's because you're not a natural Waterbender," Suki said. It sounded almost like a question. "And even then, not all Waterbenders can heal."

"I don't know, but Katara better get here fast," said Sokka.

**Z x K**

"Where. Are. You," Katara yelled for the fifth time, but it was useless. The rebels had all but disappeared. Katara had no idea where they were.

Katara finally found Azula just standing in the open in a nearby park. That was odd. Why was she standing there, unguarded and alone? Katara crept silently and slowly, sticking to the shadows. She didn't want to be noticed. Unlike her brother, she could be very good at sneak attacks.

Coming up behind her, Katara hit Azula in the back with a water whip. The force almost knocked Azula off her feet, but she instead used the momentum to turn it into a flip. The ex-Fire Princess was now facing the Waterbender.

Katara's adrenaline faded a bit and her head was clear. Fear rushed into her. What was she _doing_? This was a bad idea. There was no possible way she could do this. But then Katara thought of Zuko and of all the destruction Azula had caused. Confidence radiated all around her. Katara was sure she could do this. All the responsibility of ending this once and for all rested heavily on her shoulders, but she acted as if it were weightless.

"Look at the pretty little girl," Azula taunted, "acting as if she could beat _me_." Azula sauntered slowly towards the other girl. Katara held her ground. "The pretty little girl is a poor and pathetic Water Tribe peasant." The "pretty little girl" took a deep breath to get calm again. "The pretty lit—"

Katara cut the older girl off. "Don't call me that," she said slowly.

"Oh, what did the pretty little girl say?"

Katara let out a shriek. She attacked Azula full force. There was a pond nearby and Katara took all the water she could from it. It swirled elegantly around her.

Azula shot a lightning bold straight for Katara's head. She sidestepped and it only managed to singe her hair.

Katara figured out a tactic; let Azula wear herself down. Katara wouldn't fight back, she would just defend. This went on for a while. Katara was also getting tired herself, but not as much as Azula was getting.

After what felt like forever, Azula staggered. Katara forced Azula back towards the pond. Azula fell back in the shallow empty ditch. Freezing water over top of the Firebender, Azula was trapped, for now, anyway. Steam started to rise from the top of the now-frozen pond.

Katara searched frantically for something—anything—to keep Azula down. Amazing, Toph showed up.

"Oh, Toph! Thank _La_ you're here!" Katara said.

"Yeah, yeah, save it for later," said Toph, placing a layer of rock over top of the ice. Right now, we gotta get you back to Zuko!"

"But he's d—"

"No, he's not!"

"Wh—"

"No time for talking!" Toph grabbed Katara's arm and leading her back to Zuko and the others.

**I kept picture Bellatrix Lestrange from **_**Harry Potter**_** while I was writing this. I guess I'm just strange like that. Maybe I accidentally based it off her, but oh well. **

**How'd you like this? I don't think I liked it much. In my head, it was awesome, but when I wrote it down, it was awful. Review! **


	23. I Love You

Katara landed next to Zuko, scraping her knees, but she didn't care at the moment. "Is he still breathing?" asked Katara.

"Yeah," Suki replied. "Barely, though. He woke up several minutes ago, but then was unconscious again. He stopped breathing at times, too."

There was already water ready for Katara's use. She coated her hands and placed them on Zuko's chest. The water flared blue and then went away. Zuko still wasn't healed. Katara tried again. It wasn't working. After several more tries, the wound started to heal. The gash in his chest was mended, but Zuko wasn't. He still was passed out, no sign of waking up.

"Let's get him back to the palace," said Katara.

"Well, what about Azula?" Sokka asked.

"We'll get guards to handle her. The fires are almost out, too, so they can deal with that also. Right now, Zuko is my first priority."

**Z x K**

_This isn't working!_ Katara thought. _If only I had some Spirit Water like I used on Aang._ She let out a frustrated cry.

Nobody was left in the room. They all had gone back to bed. It was well into the next day; they'd all been awake since the previous night.

Katara knelt down close to Zuko's bed. She was beside his head, studying his features. She placed a hand on his next to his burned eye. Slowly, she leaned in and put her lips against Zuko's.

Returning to her original position, she resumed healing.

**Z x K**

Even behind closed eyes, the light was still bright. He ached all over. He wanted to slip back into unconsciousness, to the land with no pain. But he couldn't. He knew he couldn't or else he wouldn't wake back up. With much reluctance, his eyes slid opened.

The first thing he saw was a surprised face; not any particular face. It was a familiar one. A certain Waterbender's. Katara's.

**Z x K**

"Zuko!" Katara squealed, giving him a breath-restricting hug.

"Hey," Zuko said weakly, breathless. He struggled to remember what happened just twelve hours before.

"Thank La! It worked. Oh, Tui…you don't know how _relieved_ I am."

Zuko sighed. He felt completely lost. Scratching his head, he said, "Wh-what happened?"

"You can't remember? Well…" Katara summarized what happened for him.

When she finished, Zuko began to sit up. "No, no, no! You can't get up just yet. You're still hurt," Katara said.

Despite Katara's protests to get him back down, he got on his feet, leaning on the bed for support.

"I wanted to say thanks….," Zuko said. "For saving me…I wouldn't be here without you. Who knew what would've happened to my country if I died. Thanks."

Katara was stunned. Who was this person and what did they do with the real Zuko?

"I love you," he continued. Katara blushed.

"I know…you already said." They leaned together for a kiss…

…Just as Sokka walked in. And walked right back out.

Katara smiled to herself, thankful her brother gave her that one moment of peace. Zuko and Katara continued the kiss.

**So here's the dealio. I made cookies! All by myself! Without burning the house down! Aren't you happy? If you review, I'll give you a cookie. Virtually. I'm not walking all the way to your house to give you one (especially if you live in California. I live on the east coast…have some common sense). REVIEW! When you do, answer these questions:**

**-Were the characters too OOC in this chap? **

**-How'd you like this chap? Wasn't what I wanted, but that's what I got.**

**~AND~**

**-As of now, I'm thinking that there might be two chapters left. Would you guys like a sequel maybe? If yes, you have to have the idea for it. (You can answer this question later, at the last chapter.)**

**Just, basically, tell me what you think. If it's something bad, think before you write and if you must write it, put it nicely, not flame-like.**

**I'm sorry this was so short! :( I just don't know how to make this one longer! At least it was two chapters in two days.**


	24. The Final Chapter

**So I lied, not two chapters left. Just this one. This is last chap. :( It was originally going to be two epilogues, but I changed my mind. BTW, sorry this took so long! It wouldn't let me post for the longest time! Plus, I kept editing and editing and it's _still_ not perfect. **

Azula was safely tucked away in prison. She wasn't at the Boiling Rock anymore, but another, truly inescapable, prison in the mountains of the Earth Kingdom. Only the best Earthbenders could get in and out.

(_Eight Months Later_)

At last, the huge black ship pulled up to the little village of Kyoshi Island. As soon as a metal boot stepped down onto the sandy shore, a Waterbender attacked the boot's owner.

"Zuko, you made it!" Katara yelled, rushing in for a hug. Zuko literally swept her off her feet and pecked her on the lips. He set her down. "Everyone will be so happy you could come. We all know how busy you can get."

The walked hand in hand down the dirt path. At the end of the road, there was a building where Suki was getting ready for her wedding. "You'll have to wait here," Katara continued. "I have to help my new sister-in-law get dressed. You could go with Sokka, if you'd like. He should be almost ready. He's in there." She pointed to another building as she walked into the original. "See you at the wedding!"

**Z x K**

Two hours later, everyone was dressed and ready and they finally managed to get Toph in a dress without too much damage done. There were four girls lined up, excluding Suki. They were all wearing matching dark green dresses. Two came in from the right and two from the other side. Suki marched down the middle of the room, down the aisle, wearing a lacey silk dress made of the darkest emerald. It swirled around her and seemed to make her fly. Her hair was swept back and curled. Her makeup was subtle. She shone brighter than anyone else in the room; Sokka was proud.

The wedding part was short and sweet. The reception was long and loud. A band played a slow, traditional Water Tribe song in the beginning. Sokka and Suki went out first. They danced for a few minutes before other couples started to dance. Several people were already dancing until Katara finally gathered courage to ask Zuko to dance with her, realizing that he wouldn't be the one to ask.

"Dance with me?" she offered.

"I don't know the steps," said Zuko.

"Just follow me." They walked out onto the dance floor. "Place your hands here." She pulled his hands onto her waist. "I put my hands here." She put her hands on his shoulders. "Now, just do what I do." Katara waited a few beats until finding the perfect place for them to join in. Zuko danced awkwardly, trying so hard to figure out the complex steps. "You're getting the hang of it!"

"Yeah," Zuko said absent-mindedly, trying not to lose his concentration. Zuko had finally memorized the repeated steps when the song cut short and the band began to play another song, one with a fast beat. Everyone came to dance then, or to congratulate Suki, Sokka, or both. "Katara, can I talk to you?" Zuko roared over the music.

"What did you say?" Katara yelled back, equally loud. "I can't hear you!"

"I need to talk to you!"

"Oh." She pulled him out of the one-roomed building and out into the quiet night. The two walked to the beach a walked along its shores. They sat on a dry rock, the water hitting their legs.

"Turn around," said Zuko. He dug around in his pocket until he found what he was looking for. "Close your eyes." He took the object in both hands and put it around her neck. He tied it off and told Katara that she could look. She reopened her eyes and looked down. She could barely see the pendant that rested on the hollow of her neck, but she could and it was beautiful. There was the Water Tribe symbol molded into a heart. On top of the heart, was a flame. **(A/N: It's the Zutara symbol.)** Katara was speechless. It finally clicked. Betrothal necklace; he was proposing.

Katara turned back to face Zuko, tears forming in her eyes. Her mouth was opening and closing like a fish's on land. "I-I don't know what to say," she stuttered.

"Say yes," Zuko breathed in her ear.

**Z x K**

"I'm _so _nervous," Katara said, pacing in a room in the Fire Nation palace. She held her hands out in front of her, only to find them shaking. "Oh, La." She walked over to Suki and clutched the girl's arms. "How do I do this?"

"_Calm down_," Suki replied. "You've been through worse, after all. This is no big deal." Suki's newborn daughter, Mikima, cried from her cradle in the corner of the room, causing Suki to turn. Katara began to pace again. "Don't let your dress catch on anything and tear," Suki continued.

Katara finally turned in sat in hard wooden chair, her blue silk dress spilling out around her. Her wedding dress was a Fire Nation dress, but in the Water Tribe blues. She fiddled nervously with the beading on the hem. Just then, Hakoda knocked on the door, stating that everyone was seated and the wedding would start in a couple of minutes. Her stomach did cartwheels that Ty Lee would be proud of. Katara walked out of the room, Suki at her heels. Katara grabbed her father's hand, daring not to speak because she didn't know how her voice would turn out. Hakoda kissed Katara on the head. Sokka was waiting out the door, also, to take Mikima and return to his seat. "Good luck, Katara," he said simply before walking away. "I love you, sis."

Katara heard music begin nearby. Her heart picked up its pace, if possible, until she was sure that they could hear it beating from Ba Sing Se. Hakoda led Katara down several hallways before arriving at the door that led to the main ballroom. The huge ornate door was closed, but she could imagine all the people that were in there. The guest list was never-ending. There were so many people that hand-written invitations had to be sent to. Her hand was still cramped.

The door opened slowly, as if she were entering to face her death. Hakoda and Katara walked down the aisle. The whole time, Katara was thinking, _I can't do this; I can't do this_. Halfway down the aisle, the thoughts changed to, _I'm doing this; I'm getting married today; it's happening. _Her hands stopped shaking, her heartbeat slowed, she erratic breathing returned to normal as she focused her gaze on Zuko.

The wedding went by in a blur. Katara couldn't remember anything she said. She hoped she said the right things at the right time. Now, they had to greet everybody. This could take up to an hour, and it tested Katara on her Fire Lady skills.

The reception seemed to go on for days, but she had fun overall. She went around the room, mingling, or having people come up to her at her table. She stuck close to Zuko. He seemed to know who all the important people were or who to stay away from. He knew the ropes and Katara just walked blindly, learning and taking it all in.

After the wedding, the couple retreated into his—no, _their_—bedroom. They changed into their nightclothes and went to sleep, satisfied with the day. Tomorrow would begin their honeymoon.

**Z x K**

"Where are we going?" Zuko asked.

"The honeymoon," Katara replied, just loving to keep Zuko in the dark.

"I _know_ that, but where might the honeymoon be, exactly?"

"Somewhere."

"Then what do I pack?"

Katara left the room, beginning to get annoyed with her new husband.

"Is he still asking, Miss Katara?" asked a maid in the hallway. Katara smiled and nodded.

**Z x K**

"So _this_ is where we're going?" said Zuko. "Your village?"

"We won't be in my village. We'll be a few miles out in nothing but cold, snow, and ocean. Home sweet home. This is the traditional honeymoon for my people; it tests the couple to see if they can survive together."

Zuko groaned, resulting in a slap on the arm. "Get used to it, we'll be here for the next week," Katara continued.

"_Week_? Next time we go on vacation, I'm choosing."

The week went by with no harm done. They survived! Zuko was relieved. Most times, their food and heat source depended on him, unless Katara decided to Waterbend some fish out of the water. Katara would cook for them; Zuko wasn't a very good cook. Katara also had to set up their tent mostly by herself. She'd been doing this her whole life. Zuko had only been doing it for a day. But overall, they had a great trip.

**Z x K**

"I'm a _father_?" Zuko asked Katara in the hospital wing. Katara had just given birth to their first son, Kueng. Zuko held the tiny baby in his arms. He handed her their son, nervous to be holding such a helpless thing.

"You're nervous," said Katara weakly. She cradled Kueng. "You have no reason to be."

Zuko sat down on a nearby chair and ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't do this. He couldn't be a dad. He could barely run his own country!

Katara sat up, rearranging her pillows behind her so they supported her. She reached a hand over to rub his shoulder comfortingly. "Zuko, you're going to be a great father, I know it. You're going to be the only person Kueng wants to look up to. You're going to be a perfect dad, just like you are a perfect husband." They shared a quick kiss before Kueng started to cry.

**Z x K**

"Kueng! Razaria! Huan! Jianyu! Get down here _now_!" Katara screeched for the fifth time. At last, her six-year-old son, Huan, arrived, wearing an oversized coat. Katara chuckled. "Huan, why are you wearing that? We're still at home, where it's hot."

Huan was a little bit of both his parents. He was a Firebender, had a mixture of his parents' skin tones, Zuko's dark hair, and Katara's eyes. "I just can't wait to get there. I remember that it was _very_ cold," said Huan, "so I'm wearing Daddy's jacket."

"Well, you don't have to put the jacket on quite yet, honey. I packed yours already, so go put that back up and get your brothers and sister." She gently pushed him in the direction he was to go.

"Zar! Kueng! Jianyu!" Huan sang as he skipped off to find his siblings.

Several minutes later, Razaria came around the corner, arguing with her brother. "I don't see why it has to be the _oldest son_ who's the only one who gets to be Fire Lord. Why can't _I_ have a shot at it? I want a chance to rule!" Razaria yelled.

"You don't see Jianyu and Huan complaining," Kueng stated.

"Jianyu's nine! Huan's six!"

"Jianyu just turned ten."

Razaria let out a frustrated cry. "You get on my _last nerve_!" She marched off, fuming. She then spotted Katara and rushed over to her. "Mom, tell him that boys aren't better than girls!"

"Kueng, boys aren't better than girls—" Razaria made a triumphant "_hmph_" noise. "—_but_, girls aren't better than boys, either." Kueng made a similar noise. "They're _equal_, just like the Nations."

"Then why is _he_ the only one that gets to be Fire Lord? It's not fair."

"Life's not fair. Now, are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah," Kueng and Razaria said in unison.

"Go wait outside. I have to find Jianyu."

Katara searched the Palace. She couldn't find her son anywhere. Finally, she reached the library where Zuko and Jianyu were. "Boys, we have to leave. The ship heads out in twenty minutes," said Katara.

Zuko was at his desk, studying papers last-minute before he took his week vacation off. He'd have to return full-force to his work when he returned. Then there was Jianyu, the ten-year-old trying his best to be as much like his father as he could. Whenever Zuko would move, Jianyu would, too, in the exact same way. It was a funny sight.

Jianyu looked nothing like Zuko. He had Katara's skin, hair, and he was a Waterbender. The only similarity between the two was the eyes. Jianyu had the exact copy of Zuko's. Razaria was the same, but opposite. She was mostly like Zuko, but was a Waterbender with blue eyes. Kueng was a Firebender, had pale skin, dark brown hair, and golden eyes. All the siblings looked different, but all the same.

Finally, Zuko rolled up his scrolls and walked out of the room to join his wife, wrapping an arm around her waist. Jianyu clutched Katara's hand as they went the Palace gates, where their ride was waiting to take them to the docks. Arriving at the destination, Katara counted heads, making sure her whole family was there. Zuko, Razaria, Jianyu, Huan, and Kueng—all were waiting by their ride, ignoring the crowds that gathered to see them off. They filed in the cramped carriage and made their way. Already, Razaria and Kueng were in another argument.

"But you're a _Waterbender_! How could you not like the cold?"

"Because I don't. It's cold. It's ice. I don't like it. I like it here. It's heat. It's warmth."

"I think you should've been a Firebender."

This was going to be a long trip.

**The END! :(: I happy to get this finished so I can work on other stories, but I'm sad to let this go. But maybe I won't have to let this go. I'll have a poll up on my profile hopefully by the time I post this. It's, "Do you want a sequel?" Answer it, or send me a PM or a review saying your answer. If you say yes, you have to give me (an) idea(s). Or else, no sequel. Also, please review no matter what. I want to know what you think of this [amazing] story. Lol. **

**Hey, click the "author alert" button while you're at it, so that way you'll know when I'll write other stories. Even put me as one of your favorite authors, if you'd like! **

**Well guys, I'm sorry this chapter is over. It's the longest one I've written (seven pages long) and I think I'm happy with it. Now it's time for my goodbye.**

_Review,_

_Read,_

_Alert me,_

_Peace out,_

_Love to all,_

_Thanks for reading,_

_Thanks for loving,_

_Thanks for putting up with me so long,_

_I'll miss you guys,_

_KK Renee. _


	25. Sequel!

**Hey, guys! I'm back! **

**In case you don't have me on Author Alert, I made a sequel to this story! **

**It's called "The Rise of Azula." **

**(That title may or may not change…depending if I get a different idea.)**

**So, go check it out! **

**As in: **

**RIGHT NOW!**


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